Veda Ega Advances to Moto3 Q2 After Rival's Disqualification

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian motorcycle racer Veda Ega Pratama has been handed a major competitive boost at the 2026 Czech Moto3 World Championship, securing a direct ticket to the second qualifying session (Q2) following the post-session disqualification of British rider Eddie O’Shea.

The dramatic reshuffle altered Friday's official practice standings at the historic Brno Circuit, elevating the young Indonesian prospect into the crucial top-14 cutoff zone ahead of Saturday’s decisive grid shootouts, Antara reported.

Veda, who competes under the Honda Team Asia banner, originally concluded Friday's intense Practice session in 15th position, registering his personal best lap time of 2 minutes 5.910 seconds. Under Moto3 tournament rules, only the 14 fastest riders from the combined practice classifications earn a direct bypass to Q2, meaning the rider from Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, was initially slated to battle through the unpredictable first qualifying knockout stage (Q1).

However, the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel disrupted the provisional standings late Friday evening after conducting mandatory post-session technical inspections. Inspectors found that Eddie O’Shea’s GRYD Racing machine violated strict technical weight regulations.

The British rider's motorcycle recorded a combined bike-and-rider weight of just 149.80 kg during the scales audit, falling short of the mandatory minimum limit of 152.0 kg. As a direct consequence, the stewards deleted O’Shea’s entire time sheet from the practice classification, stripping him of his provisional 11th-place finish.

The disqualification automatically promoted every rider positioned below O'Shea up by one spot. The adjustment pushed Veda into 14th place, allowing him to claim the final automatic qualification spot for Q2.

This structural upgrade represents a critical advantage for the Indonesian rookie. By avoiding the high-stakes Q1 session, Veda can preserve his tire allocation and focus entirely on maximizing his starting position for Sunday's main race. The breakthrough offers an ideal opportunity to bounce back from the previous round in Hungary, where his race strategy was compromised after a long lap penalty relegated him to an unfavorable starting slot.

While Veda reaped the benefits of the technical ruling, the Friday sessions were utterly dominated by Malaysian prodigy Hakim Danish. Riding for AEON Credit - MT Helmets - MSI, Danish showcased relentless pace from Free Practice 1 (FP1) through to the final timed runs, topping the leaderboard with a blistering time of 2 minutes 4.754 seconds.

Danish's hot lap shattered the all-time Moto3 lap record at the Brno Circuit, a benchmark he had already broken earlier that same day with a 2 minutes 4.938-second run.

The Malaysian rider led the pack ahead of Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP’s David Almansa and current Moto3 championship leader Maximo Quiles representing the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team. Alvaro Carpe locked down fourth place, closely followed by Joel Esteban in fifth.

The Moto3 qualifying sessions at the Czech Grand Prix are scheduled to commence on Saturday, June 20, 2026, starting at 5:45 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB). ***